Witness: Airstrikes hit Somalia

2006-12-24 12:22

Mogadishu, Somalia - Ethiopian fighter jets bombarded the Somali town of Belet Weyne on Sunday, witnesses said, in a sharp escalation of the violence that is threatening to engulf the volatile Horn of Africa.

The airstrikes on the town, which is controlled by Somalia's Islamic militia, hit a strategic road and a recruiting centre for the militants, Ayanle Husein Abdi told The Associated Press by telephone.

The Council of Islamic Courts has vowed to drive out troops from neighbouring Ethiopia, a largely Christian nation that is providing military support to Somalia's UN-backed government.

Fighting was reported on Sunday in towns including Baidoa - the only town the government controls - and the Islamist strongholds of Belet Weyne and Bandiradley.

"The planes hit an Islamic centre where the Islamic officials in the region have been enrolling volunteers who wanted to join the war," Abdi said by telephone from Belet Weyne.

Another witness, Said Abukar Sahal, said the strikes were targeting the roads and defences of the Islamic militia."

- AP